Despite the controversy on trademark rights and patent validity surrounding the world-known herbal compound 'Jeevani, the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), its inventor, has offered to out-license the product for global commercialisation following the expiry of the licensing period with the Coimbatore Arya Vaidya Pharmacy.

TBGRI has invited Expression Of Interest (EOI) from pharmaceutical firms which have a minimum of ten years experience in the field of production and sale of medicines including herbal and Ayurvedic medicines to produce and market Jeevani throughout the world on an exclusive right basis. TBGRI, which transferred the technology to the Coimbatore Arya Vaidya Pharmacy for a period of seven years in 1996 for Rs 10 lakhs and 2% royalty fees, has fixed an offer of Rs 20 lakhs as minimum licence fee and a minimum offer of 4% royalty on the ex-factory sale price as the basic qualification for participating in the global bid.

The interested parties have to provide details like the minimum licence fee that the company could offer for the technology transfer on an exclusive worldwide basis, on an exclusive licence for manufacture and sale in India, and on a non-exclusive basis.

Interestingly, TBGRI so far has not initiated any attempts to secure a global patent for the product and to ensure the trademark right of the compound is secured with the inventor. The trademark right of Jeevani is with the Coimbatore Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, which was marketing the product till October 2005. It is also not clear whether the compound could be manufactured and sold globally on an exclusive right basis, as TBGRI has only a 7-year valid process patent, awarded in 1996.

Jeevani, which shot into international fame during the 1990-95 period, ran into a series of controversies following two Pharmabiz news breaks, on Nutrisciences Innovations LLC's attempt to register trademark rights of Jeevani in US and a recent report on a US health store chain securing trade mark rights of 'Jeevani Jolt 1000,' an innovated product with same ingredients. Pharmabiz also revealed that at least five US patent claims, some of them international claims, are pending with the United States Patent Treaty Organisation (USPTO) on processes and drug development using herbal extract combinations with Aarogyapacha as the major ingredient.

Following the controversy, Panabaka Lakshmi, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare recently had stated in Lok Sabha that AVP is having the exclusive right for manufacture and sale of the drug in India and abroad and is continuing to market the product. Trademarks have been taken on Jeevani at the USPTO bearing serial No. 75692281 by NutriScience Innovations LLC Ltd. Connecticut and Serial No. 75955444' 'Jeevani Jolt' by Great Earth Enterprises Inc, New York. While the earlier trademark was filed on 27th April 1999 and was abandoned on 13th July 2001 the latter was filed on 8th March, 2000 and is still alive, the minister had said.

Jeevani was developed by the scientists led by Dr. P Pushpagandagan, the then director of TBGRI, taking lead from the Kani tribal community in the Western Ghats. TBGRI ensured to share the license fee and royalty with the tribal community on 1:1 basis and thus India became the first in the world to recognise the Intellectual Property Rights of a tribal community and thereby implemented the Article 8(j) of the UN-Convention of Biological Diversity. This model of benefit sharing is now widely appreciated in the world over and is referred as TBGRI model or Pushpangadan Model of Benefit Sharing. He was awarded the prestigious UN-Equator Initiative Award in 2002 for the same during the UN Summit held at Johannesburg in Aug-Sept 2002.